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Pic.: Pushpa Mistry Kamath I say this too often. And, yesterday, I heard it from a
friend of mine, too: “We need to have trust when we step out into the world.” Yes, this friend of mine, too, was
asking, “What kind of life it would be, if we have no trust in each other?” He pointed to me at the cars and the
bikes parked inside our society complex and said, “Ours is a private society. We
have this boundary wall and massive gates protecting us. There are these
security guards keeping a vigil all through the day and the night… So, we think
we are safe, our properties are safe. But, let’s just move out of our society
complex and see how it is… There are these ultra-modern buildings with no place
to park even their high-end cars… They leave them on the open road and go off
to sleep. Lakhs and lakhs of taxis and auto rickshaws are left on the roadside
by their owners when they go home at night… The lamps on the streets are not
guarded… There are lakes giving us all the drinking water… They are…

Last week, I had invited a very dear friend of mine to spend
an hour with our young PD-students. She did a wonderful job… helping young-ones
to correct the most common mistakes they committed while communicating in
English. My friend is a very gentle and
helpful soul. Now retired, she had been a very popular English teacher… and,
like all teachers do, had impacted lives of thousands of students through her
teaching career. This morning, I saw a message from my
friend… She wanted my e-mail id. Our students had loved her session and found
it very useful. Even though I had
conveyed it to her and thanked her profusely, while sending to her my e-mail
id, today, I, once again, conveyed to her my students’ and my own sincere feelings… “Gerry,
in fact, I needed the e-mail id for that reason,” my friend wrote to me, “I realized that a lot of threads were hanging
loose and hoped that if I explained it all in detail to you in…

A 14-year-old girl was on stage. “What makes me happy?” was
the spontaneous topic we had chosen for the day. I had watched this girl on
stage, during our sessions in the past years… She was a teenager now, and, I
saw the self-consciousness telling it on her body… Her hands shivered, legs
moved awkwardly, eyes blurred and voice cracked… “Don’t worry beta about what is happening to you,” I encouraged the young-one, “just
feel your fear fully… It will die.” I could see an immediate denial, “Sir
I am not frightened.” She did not tell me that; but, from my own expereicne, I
could read her heart… “Beta, when you used to go on stage a few years ago, you would do it
so naturally, so fearlessly… and, now, when you are a teenager, you tend to
become a lot ‘self-conscious’… That’s a natural growing-up process. Don’t
worry.” The girl seemed more relaxed now… “Thank
God, I am normal!” “I did not say, you become ‘conscious’…
I said, you become ‘self-conscious’,” I told the cl…

“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, still, we go forward. Because we trust… Because we have Faith.” ―Paulo Coelho Whenever I ask our participants to write down some of their
main strengths and weaknesses, I come across this one: “I trust people easily”
or “I trust people too much.” Should we trust people – easily? I think, if we operate from our
innate faith and strength, trusting others – even if it means easily and early
– comes to us naturally, and, that’s how it should be. On the other hand, when
we operate from our fear – insecurity, lack and skepticism – it doesn’t come to
us naturally… It cannot. Let’s imagine this scenario: I meet
someone and approach him with lack of trust. And, he, too, approaches me in the
same manner. Where is this interaction, this relationship going to take us? One of the two parties has to
operate with a strong, confident heart… a heart filled with trust… a heart
which is driven by faith. When it goes that way, the oth…

“If we don't take care of our customers, someone else will." -Unknown Ihave come to Ahmadabad to conduct a two-day training-programme for the fresh employees
of a leading bank. The gentleman in-charge of this programme, here, is Mr.
Joshi. I hadn't met or talked to him before… We were total strangers. But,
right since last afternoon, he had been constantly in touch with me… enquiring
about my flight, transportation to my accommodation and the training facility
etc. In the process, he freed me of the stress and made me feel at home. I was up at 5 this morning. At 5.30, I received a warm
good-morning message from Mr. Joshi. My flight was at 2.25 in the afternoon. But,
he made me feel that I was not just ‘one- more-trainer’ in his long list of trainers…
He made me feel - that, I was special, I
was important… that, he and the bank he represented really cared for me… Yes,
my day started off on this inspiring note, today… Just before the flight was to take off, Mr. Joshi sent
me a …

Pic.: Suresh Nair “There are two kinds of
people: those who do the work,
and, those who take the credit. Try to be in the first
group… There is less competition there.” Indira Gandhi Yesterday, someone was telling
me how fierce the competition was in his field. This man worked extremely hard,
and he worked with all his heart. Things had moved well for him all along. But,
he seemed to be a lot anxious. “I sense I am losing the hold… There is fierce competition
around me. There are plenty in the field out there doing what I have been doing…
There is ample option for the customers, now… Moreover, I am not ‘that young’ anymore.” “What did you say, last?” I
probed the man. “I said, I am not ‘that young’
anymore,” he repeated. “Do you, also, sense that you
are not ‘as enthusiastic and as passionate’ anymore?” He took some time to tell this:
“Well, I sense that my enthusiasm and passion are not the same as they used to
be once, when I was younger,” he admitted, “But, then, I still work hard and
lon…

“Even in the midst of the
storm the sun is still shining.” ―Dayna Lovely It is not easy for us to admit our mistakes. If we are
public figures, it is even more so… very, very tough. That’s why, of all the
character strengths, I have, always, held that this strength – the ability to
accept one’s mistakes and to be ready to do amends – as the greatest one. Presently, a dear-old-friend of
mine is going through a life-churning process. He is 50. When young, his sole
aim had been to reach ‘the top’ in corporate world. So, consumed by this burning
desire, he worked round the clock… ignoring what his young wife and little
daughter really w

I think of so many people every day. Some of them dominate
my consciousness, and those thoughts are either pleasant or unpleasant. Yes, whenever the thoughts of some
people come up in my mind, I feel happy for them… I deeply wish them well… I
want them to be happy, successful, loved and respected in life… I want their families
to be happy and successful… I may not go down on my knees and pray for these
people and their families… I just wish – deeply and sincerely - in my heart,
that they and their families should be happy and successful. On the other hand, whenever the thoughts
of some other people – very few – come up in my mind, I don’t feel happy for
them… I feel the irritation, anger, hurt, and that doesn't allow me to think
nicely about them or their families… The more I think about these people, the
more unpleasant feelings dominate my consciousness… Again, I may not ask God to
punish them; but, I deeply hold a lot of resentment… Yes, I do. Now, what…

'Passionate about Life.'... That's how I see myself. For me, the term 'passion' has a special meaning. It is living life with its totality... With all its hues and confusions, with all its triumphs and defeats.
I consider myself as a little kid, still groping in the dark -- trying to find a way out of this great maze. Sometimes, I wonder: whether there is a way out at all? Whether the maze itself is the way?
Thus, as a kid awe-struck by this amazing mystery called LIFE, I have a lot to share with my fellow kids. I believe, it would be an exciting and fulfilling journey, each morning...
I am, indeed, looking forward to each dawn, with fresh eyes... And my fresh note to share...
Love,
GERALD D'CUNHA